Back-to-school season is upon us, which means students and their parents are shopping for the first day of classes.
Many flock to Walmart ($WMT), the nation's largest retail chain with over 4,200 Walmart and Walmart Superstores nationwide. To see what they're buying, we dug into our Walmart product-ranking database that tracks hundreds of thousands of products to gain an understanding of what back-to-school items are hot this year.
What we found was initially unsurprising: notebooks, pens, paper, and glue dominated the ranks as we approach the fall semester. But one item stuck out: a VR helmet.
| Item | Rank |
|---|---|
| Case-It Open Tab 2-Inch Binder, Assorted Colors | 1 |
| HP Multipurpose Paper, 8.5 x 11 In 500 sheets | 2 |
| Case it The Mighty Zip Tab 3-Ring Zipper Binder | 3 |
| Georgia-Pacific Standard Multipurpose Paper 5,000 Sheets | 4 |
| Mead Primary Journal, Half Page Ruled, Grades K-2, 100 Sheets | 5 |
| Elmer's Washable School Glue Stick | 6 |
| Elmer's Washable School Glue, Gallon | 7 |
| Mead Filler Paper, 15lb, College Rule 200 Sheets | 8 |
| Five Star Reinforced Filler Paper, College Ruled, 100 Sheets | 9 |
| Mead 1-Subject College Ruled Spiral Notebook | 10 |
| Dust-Off DPSXL3 Disposable Dusters | 11 |
| Hammermill Copy Paper Poly Wrap | 12 |
| Aurora 6-Sheet Strip-Cut Paper/Credit Card Shredder without Wastebasket | 13 |
| Five Star 5-Subject College Ruled Spiral Notebook | 14 |
| Koramzi VR Headset - Black | 15 |
| BIC Round Stic Xtra Life Ball Pen, Medium, 60 pack | 16 |
| Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches, Letter Size | 17 |
| Un-Du Adhesive Remover | 18 |
| Westcott Kids Scissors, 5" Pointed, Assorted Colors | 19 |
| Elmers Washable School Glue Sticks, All Purpose, 30 | 20 |
| Hammermill Copy Paper, 5000 sheets | 21 |
| Avery Economy View Binder with 1-1/2" | 22 |
| Avery Economy Round Ring View Binder | 23 |
| Cobra 16-Mile 2-Way Radios Walkie Talkies, 2-Pack | 24 |
| Georgia Pacific Basic Copy Paper, 1500 Sheets | 25 |
As of today, the most-popular school supply item are classic 2-inch ring binders. Paper-based products, especially journals and notebooks, filled out the majority of the list.
The classic Bic ballpoint pen made the list within the top-20 best sold items, but appears below the $16.95 Koramzi VR Headset — not your typical back-to-school purchase. Whether this VR headset is being used for education or not, such a notion isn't too farfetched: American classrooms are beginning to experement with virtual reality as a way to engage students technology, including curricula for students with special needs.
Arlington Science Focus students using VR to learn (Alchemy Learning)
Filtering the results to remove the more obvious back-to-school items like stationery and reams of paper, good old ring binders and Elmer's School Glue jump to the top of our best-selling list.
|
Item |
Rank |
|---|---|
| Case-It Open Tab 2-Inch Binder, Assorted Colors | 1 |
| Case it The Mighty Zip Tab 3-Ring Zipper Binder D-156-B | 3 |
| Elmer's Washable School Glue Stick - Purple | 6 |
| Elmer's Washable School Glue, Gallon | 7 |
| Dust-Off DPSXL3 Disposable Dusters (3 pk) | 11 |
| Koramzi VR Headset - Black | 15 |
| BIC Round Stic Xtra Life Ball Pen, Medium Point (1.0mm), Black, 60 Count | 16 |
| Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches, Letter Size, | 17 |
| Un-Du Adhesive Remover 4oz | 18 |
| Westcott Kids Scissors, 5" Pointed, Assorted Colors | 19 |
| Elmer's Washable School Glue Sticks, All Purpose, 30/Pack | 20 |
| Avery Economy View Binder with 1-1/2" Round Ring | 22 |
| Avery Economy Round Ring View Binder White | 23 |
| Cobra 16-Mile 2-Way Radios Walkie Talkies | 24 |
According to Deloitte, "Back to School season" is the second-largest shopping season of the year. Parents and students are expected to spend $27.6 billion this year as they gear up for classes. Its survey also found that many people actually begin their back to school shopping before August, but retailers target promotions for the late August rush when up to $18 billion will be spent.
